Autonomous vehicles use various computing systems to aid in the transport of passengers from one location to another. Some autonomous vehicles may require some initial input or continuous input from an operator, such as a pilot, driver, or passenger. Other systems, for example autopilot systems, may be used only when the system has been engaged, which permits the operator to switch from a manual mode (where the operator exercises a high degree of control over the movement of the vehicle) to an autonomous mode (where the vehicle essentially drives itself) to modes that lie somewhere in between.
Such vehicles must have access to highly detailed maps in order to maneuver between two locations. The maps may include information such as the direction and location of roadways, lane data, traffic signals, etc. The maps may also include connections identifying the relationships between these features. In one example, a map may include a location at which a vehicle must begin to make a turn at an intersection. The location may be associated with one or more connections to traffic signals which the vehicle must observe before safely making the turn at the intersection.
These maps may be generated manually by comparing multiple sources of information such as road maps, photographs, laser intensity data, etc., and mapping the various features and the connections between them. For example, connecting the traffic signals at a typical four-way intersection (two streets crossing one another) to the locations at which the vehicle must observe the traffic signals may take a human mapper a half hour or more to complete. Thus, generation of these maps may require significant human resources.